http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/askthecalifornian/41905 I am a concerned parent and I write to you because my son's safety is at risk here. I do not have a vehicle so I rely on the GET bus, but I am risking my son's safety because he is not buckled in any type of safety seat. I know I am not the only mom who takes her baby on the bus because I constantly see other moms trying to hold on to their child with all their might. Is there some crazy law preventing child safety when using the public transportation system? — Christy Shipley There's nothing preventing child safety when using public transportation. But there's nothing that says it's required. In fact, when it comes to the vehicle code and child restraint laws, transit buses do not fall under any classifications. Child restraint laws simply do not apply to them. So why don't they put seats in? They don't have to. “Technically, they're not required to have seat belts,” California Highway Patrol Officer Robert Rodriguez said. “It's not something that's mandated.” But GET officials said one of the best reasons for using public transit is safety. Drivers are trained by professionals to monitor the roads. Buses are also heavier than other vehicles on the road. “Even in cases of an accident between a car and a bus, bus passengers are rarely injured,” GET spokeswoman Gina Hayden said in an e-mail. “Forty-ton buses can take a lot of impact.” CHP agrees. They investigate GET bus crashes, Rodriguez said, and a majority of them result with no injuries to anyone on the bus. To help make GET bus travel safer, GET asks riders to: • speak to the driver only when the bus is stopped. • allow the elderly, mobility-impaired and mothers with babies to use bus seats. Strollers should be folded. • not sit or stand on the stairwell or hold the door. I am a concerned parent and I write to you because my son's safety is at risk here. I do not have a vehicle so I rely on the GET bus, but I am risking my son's safety because he is not buckled in any type of safety seat. I know I am not the only mom who takes her baby on the bus because I constantly see other moms trying to hold on to their child with all their might. Is there some crazy law preventing child safety when using the public transportation system? — Christy Shipley There's nothing preventing child safety when using public transportation. But there's nothing that says it's required. In fact, when it comes to the vehicle code and child restraint laws, transit buses do not fall under any classifications. Child restraint laws simply do not apply to them. So why don't they put seats in? They don't have to. “Technically, they're not required to have seat belts,” California Highway Patrol Officer Robert Rodriguez said. “It's not something that's mandated.” But GET officials said one of the best reasons for using public transit is safety. Drivers are trained by professionals to monitor the roads. Buses are also heavier than other vehicles on the road. “Even in cases of an accident between a car and a bus, bus passengers are rarely injured,” GET spokeswoman Gina Hayden said in an e-mail. “Forty-ton buses can take a lot of impact.” CHP agrees. They investigate GET bus crashes, Rodriguez said, and a majority of them result with no injuries to anyone on the bus. To help make GET bus travel safer, GET asks riders to: • speak to the driver only when the bus is stopped. • allow the elderly, mobility-impaired and mothers with babies to use bus seats. Strollers should be folded. • not sit or stand on the stairwell or hold the door. en-us Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:48:57 PST